As you know from my In My Mailbox posts, I review for two other websites (bookloons.com and bittenbybooks.com). As I cannot post my reviews there and here, but I would still like to count the books I read for the challenges, I am going to have a post like this at the end of the every month listing the books I reviewed and what challenges the went towards.

The Color of Snowby Brenda Stanleypublished by Tribute2012ISBN 978-0-9837418-9-3Why Read?: ReviewChallenges: Standalone, YA Saves, 100 Books in a Year

The Color of Snow is one of the most intense YA
contemporaries that I have read this year.
Brenda Stanley takes the reader for one highly-emotional ride.

Sophie Sanchez lives in seclusion with her father, Miguel, who never
allows her to travel outside the home or receive any visitors. One day, she accidently reveals herself when
a co-worker of her dad’s comes to call with her two boys in tow. Sophie forms a fast friendship with the boys,
Donny and Damien, who come to see her in the morning while her father is at
work. When Donny dies mysteriously, her
father explains why she must never get close to anyone; he believes their
family is under a curse that will kill anyone they love. This leads him to putting bars on her windows
and replacing her bedroom door with a gate.
Years later, Damien comes back to see Sophie and discovers the
conditions in which she is living. After
her father shoots Damien, the authorities come and arrest him and take Sophie
to live with her mother’s family whom she believes hates her. Sophie quickly learns a lot about her new
family, but the reason for her father’s kidnapping her is still a mystery to
her.

What Stanley did that really made The Color of Snow stand out from any similar story is tell the story with a loose timeline, alternating between Sophie's present, her past, and her father's past. It gives the novel wonderful depth and lets the reader see what events led up to her father's arrest which started the book, and lets the reader sympathize with not only Sophie but also empathize with her father. This last point is highly tricky, but Stanley executes it very well. However, handling so many story threads slows the pacing a little in spots, but Stanley's engaging story definitely keeps the reader salivating for more and to continue reading until that thread is picked up again.

Brenda Stanley's story-telling prowess makes The Color of Snow one of the standout reads of the summer.

Monday, July 30, 2012

The Aspen 2-Million Winner-Take-Allby John Morrispublished by Two Harbors2012ISBN Why Read?: ReviewChallenges: 100 Books in a Year

If you are looking for an oddly compelling, twisting and turning, hilarious read, I highly suggest you check out The Aspen 2-Million Winner-Take-All by John Morris. This is a story unlike anything I have ever read.

Morgan Somerville is living the good life in Aspen. Earning his living as a golf-themed self-help guru leaves him plenty of time for his overgrown fratboy ways of skiing, throwing parties, and playing with his garage band whenever he likes. Things change quickly, though, when his old duplex-mate moves out and his new neighbor, the incredibly hot Risa, moves in. Try as he might, Morgan cannot get Risa to give him the time of day - that is, until his pot plant pot falls off his balcony and kills her beloved dog Tyson. Before Morgan can even comprehend what happened, Risa is throwing stuff at him and threatening to sue him. As far as Morgan can figure out, this leaves him with three option - make Risa fall in love with him, find out her dark secrets and blackmail her, or come up with a million to pay her off. With her constantly throwing objects at him, the first does not seem like an option, and makes the second rather difficult, too, so when the chance to win two million in a secret golf tournament comes up, Morgan jumps at the chance. However, even though his business is golf-related, his game is not up to par with the rest of the tournament's players...but could Risa be melting a little to his irresistible charm?

The Aspen 2-Million Winner-Take-All is one crazy story. It is a longer read, and there are some spots where you wonder where Morris is taking you, but then something new happens and it all makes sense. It really makes for one roller-coaster of a read. Of course, there are times when you just want to yell at Morgan to tell Risa what really happened to Tyson, but then you realize that there wouldn't be this hilarious series of mishaps and the book would only be a few rather uneventful chapters.

The only problem I had was Morris's reliance on using celebrities to instantly describe the characters rather the using his own descriptions. Luke the handyman being likened to Jesus was humorous, but with the rest, it felt more like Morris was casting a movie than populating a novel.

All in all, The Aspen 2-Million Winner-Take-All is one highly engaging, zany read. John Morris shows great potential in the humorous genres.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Thoughts: This is a very unique story with a lot of threads that lead up to one heck of a cliffhanger. At first, it took a while to get into because it is told from so many points of view, but once everyone is introduced and the exposition is over, the story really picks up.

In Listening to Africa, poet Diana M. Raab details her trip to Africa. The sights on the trip, so different from America, bring about many emotions and reminiscences in Raab, from her fear that her frail immune system might not be able to handle some of the bug-carried diseases ("The Scent of Death") to how much her son reminds her of her deceased father ("Your Camera"). However, these heavy moments are also balanced by lighter ones, notably when she is observing the wildlife such as monkeys ("Mischievous Monkeys") and dug beetles ("Dung Beetles").

As a whole, Listening to Africa wonderfully captures the feel of Diana M. Raab's experience. However, there were times when it felt like she was holding back a little, teasing the reader with a taste of the culture rather that fully emerging the reader in Africa.

Jolene Perry knows how to present tough issues in a way that is accessible and acceptable to teens, as evidenced by her latest novel, Knee Deep. This is a realistic portrayal of abusive high school relationships, charged with emotion.

Ronnie has always known Shawn was the one for her. They began dating as young teens, stayed connected when Shawn's family moved, and are stronger than ever now that it is senior year and Shawn has moved back. However, Shawn is different from that boy she fell in love with. Lately, he has become moody and temperamental when Ronnie does things he does not like - such as wear shoes that make her taller than him. When Ronnie finds out that his parents have been getting into heated arguments that often become physical, she blames his irritability on that...and even looks the other way the first time he leaves bruises on her wrist. Soon, though, the bruises become more frequent, but Ronnie knows she must stand by Shawn. Their friend Luke, though, begins to notice that something is not right, and even stops Shawn from hurting Ronnie a few times. But no matter what Luke says, or how close she and him become, Ronnie feels Shawn can go back to that boy she feel in love with and she must stay by him no matter what. What will it take for Ronnie to finally see the truth?

While I, luckily, have never been in a situation like Ronnie's, Perry made it really easy to see where she was coming from. So many times we read about an abusive relationship and wonder why she (or he) does not just leave; through Ronnie's viewpoint, Perry shows why that is not possible. Hearing Ronnie's thoughts and seeing how they parallel some of my own in totally different situations helped me connect with her and truly understand her predicament.

Knee Deep is a must read for all teen girls, whether they are in an abusive relationship or not even in a relationship at all. Jolene Perry gets to the heart of the matter in a story that is highly readable and enjoyable.

Disclaimer

All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the reviewer and not necessarily of Reading Challenged. No compensation has been provided for any review. Unless otherwise noted, all book cover images were taken from Goodreads.